The beginning of the project is essential for every Project Manager. The long-awaited contract is signed and the project is almost yours…The next step is to prepare to Project Charter
So, what is the Project Charter? Why do we need it?
Depending on the used technology, people use different names of this document: Project Charter, Project Statement, Project Passport.
Let’s start with the definition:
Project Charter is a document authored by the sponsoring entity. It provides the project manager with the authority to plan and execute the project and allocate the company resources to project activities.
Source:
©2013 Project Management Institute. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Fifth Edition
Many people ask why we need this document. There is a contract, which most often includes a timeline, a budget, and perhaps even a preferred result. But the contract is primarily a legal document - about finances and the responsibility of the parties. As a rule, there is nothing about the project itself.
How should we draw up this Charter? What should it consist of?
The document structure and composition may vary depending on the complexity, duration and essence of the project.
There are main basic sections that must be in any case, these are:
- Project goals and objectives
- Results (or deliverables) for each stage
- Deadlines
- Risks
- Organizational structure, including key project team members and their authority
- Responsibility matrix
- Assumptions, limitations and exclusions
If the project is complex (long duration, more than two parties involved, uncertain boundaries, high degree of uncertainty, etc.), additional sections are allocated in the Charter:
- Project quality management
- Project work management
- Project communication management
- Project change management
- Project documentation
- Stages and life cycle
When preparing the Charter, it is important not to be too involved and not to describe requirements and procedures that will be unachievable later or or whose implementation has no effect on the quality of the project. It is important to consider that the Charter should be primarily a working document, and the Charter should help manage the project, not complicate its unnecessary routine. Even if something in the Charter turns out to be undescribed, you can later supplement it with an annex.
Since in our case we are considering automation projects based on 1C solutions, we will refer to the document published on the official website of 1C company «Regulation on certification of Project Manager and Corporate Project Manager »
"The Project Charter must contain at least all sections that are in the corresponding template in 1C:ProfCase 2.0 - KV-002-T (Template of the Project Charter). dot - and contain the information that is defined by comments to sections. In general, the Project Charter must comply with the requirements of the PMI® PMBOK® standard for the content of this document."